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Clive Cussler Plague Ship (Theo)

The Oregon is a wolf in sheep's clothing piloted by captain Juan Cabrillo. Despite its dilapidated exterior which gives the impression that it will fall apart at the blink of an eye. It is in truth a ship at the very forefront of modern technology with several torpedo launchers and large rail guns fitted and is designed for action and investigation.

After a successful mission into Iranian waters, aimed to steal two $2000000 Russian torpedoes a cruise ship is discovered out in one of most the remote parts of sea on the planet. Strangely it has no traces of heat and is not moving, it is expected to be an abandoned ship. After a UAV surveys the vessel, pictures are taken and transmitted to the Oregon, these show that everyone on board is dead due to what looks like massive hemorrhaging. Does this have links to one of the crew members' son going missing, taken by a fundamentalist population control group. It seems quite likely. The cruise ship is scuttled, previously rigged to do so, they must investigate. Failure means massive economical upset and disaster on a global scale.

Plague ship is beautifully structured and written and is probably the book I have most enjoyed reading out of the vast numbers I have read. I strongly recommend it to those who enjoy books with many unknown answers throughout, books that make you think for the entirety of the experience and also those who enjoy action. This book is spectacularly well balanced. It is one of few books which manages to be quite action packed without being full of impossible stunts and unlikely escapes.

Please read it.

Tomorrow, when the war began. written by John Marsden. Reviewed by Kenadee

Tomorrow when the war began is a gripping story about war, love, friendship and loyalty.

The whole story starts off when the main character Ellie, who lives in Wirrawee, Australia, is bored one weekend and decides to get a group of friends together to go on a camping trip to Hell ( named so because of the depth of the 'hole' and also leading into Hell is the 'Satan Steps' so name well suited).

Ellie manages to get a decent enough group of people to come camping. She gets her dads truck and then drives everyone up the hill leading to the Satan steps. There is an old tale going around Wirrawee which says there was once an old hermit who murdered his son and wife and he took refuge in Hell. When Ellie and her friends arrive in Hell they set up camp and go to sleep, but in the night they hear a whole lot of planes going overhead which they just pass off as part of the yearly celebration what they dont know is that this isnt part of the celebration its actually an air raid. The next day they discuss it for a bit and then decide to go exploring through Hell which is where they find the hermits hut where they also find the news reports and letters proving him possibly innocent.

I highly recommend this book to any-one who likes books that keep you awake at night reading.

also this book would be highly suited for anyone over the age of 12.

This book is the first in a series of 8 and makes you want more and more

DRAMA! : The Four Dorothys - Paul Ruditis (Beth)

When you have a school full of the spawn of the a-list-celebrities and you have to put on a spring musicale what do you? The Wizard of Oz in multi cast form none the less. As the title suggests this story is dripping with drama and not just on the stage as Dorothys start dropping out of the musical.

This book is stylised in a form any true musical lover will thoroughly enjoy it, however, if you are not I recommend you do not put this on your must read list. There are many references to musicals including every title being named a show of some kind.

Paul Ruditis has chosen Bryan Stark to narrate this high school tale and he is probably the only one we meet through the story who is not totally obsessed with fame and money. Bryan introduces himself as a watcher of his life; an onlooker. In this way he is the perfect narrator. Bryan uses the story as sort of a diary of his life, one fact that is dealt with is that he is gay but is in the closet his secret will appeal to many readers: "None of my friends have announced to me that they're straight. Until they do that, I don't see much point in making some grand declaration of my own."

Although Bryan is written with some sort of flare it seems that the other characters fall flat in comparison. Ruditis uses many stereotypes and it is difficult to relate to any of them due to the 2 dimensional image we are given. One of these characters is the main heroine Sam who doesn't actually have enough money to attend the school but her mother teaches there so she gets in. Sure she has talent and wants to go far but it is the same old story we have read too many times.

As I said a true musical theatre lover could be able to look past the character flaws because the drama filled story echos what could be an over the top theatre show but I do not recommend it to any one who has no knowledge of the performing arts as the story line is flat and easily predictable and most of the characters are bland and boring.

Paper Towns - John Green (Beth)

Paper Towns is the tale of Quentin Jacobsen -Q to his friends - he has always been in love with his childhood friend Margo Roth Spiegelman. In their last year of high school Margo comes to Q's room in the middle of the night and takes him on an adventure before leaving without a trace in the morning. Q finds various clues that he has to solve before he can hopefully find his childhood sweet heart.

John Green writes a lovable, outsider but guy with a good heart very well and Quentin is easy to relate to and a great narrator through out the story. However Green's character that will most intrigue you will be Margo. The way she is introduced is very interesting as Green uses the clues to reveal more of the her slowly and you wont get the full picture until the end. Her character development has to be a key thread in the story that will keep you guessing who she really is.

One thing that is dealt with in the book that I feel every person should learn is that the way you think about someone isn't necessarily the way they actually are. It is brought up a number of times and challenges Quentin's view of the world around him.

For anyone who likes to read a book that makes them think and reevaluate the world that surrounds them I highly recommend this book no matter what gender you are but this book wouldn't be suitable for children under the ages of 13 as it deals with some themes that aren't appropriate for younger children.

Open- An Autobiography by Andre Agassi (reviewed by Julian Chu-Tan)

This book is aimed more at those out there who are fans or play tennis, but anyone who knows who Andre Agassi is will definitely enjoy this book. This book is not only about his many achievements in his life in tennis but it also describes his journey in discovering himself. This is the first time that he announced to the world that he actually hated tennis since he was a young child. He wanted to quit many times but he didn't know how to do anything else in life. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade (year 10). He returned home from his boarding school with a pink mohawk, and a stud in his ear. He hated his life, because tennis was his life. His father knew he was a born natural and that he was destined to play tennis. His father made his mobile out of tennis balls, when he was in around five years of age his father gave him a tennis racket and let him hit anything in the house as long as he used the racket.

In his whole career he has won eight Grand Slam singles championships tying him for seventh on the all time list, and he's the only man to win a "Golden Slam" - all four Grand Slam singles plus the Olympic Gold Medal. As founder of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, he has raised more than $85 million for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, and acclaimed school for underprivileged children in his hometown, Las Vegas. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Stefanie Graf, and their 2 children.

I had a great time reading this book and assure an enjoyable read to those who are fans of Andre Agassi or tennis. This book was truly inspiring and I think it will inspire many people in years to come.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Reviewed by Brian)

If you lose your purpose ... it's like you're broken.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret which entertained me with its unique use of illustration, often in the form of stop-motion, follows the story of Hugo Cabret, a boy who lived in Paris in the the 1930s. To fix his inheritance from his father, he steals toys from a toyshop of Georges Méliès, who has a mysterious past. Hugo's inheritance, a man-shaped automaton, is the reason he exists and he believes it will lead him to something good.

The author, Brian Selznick, is a well-known illustrator and this third book, the Invention of Hugo Cabret, made him a recognised writer. Despite receiving many awards for illustrating books by other authors, this was the only novel to received awards and win the deserved 'best book of the year' section of a number of magazines.

I loved the book and believe it is a rare book that 'everyone' will enjoy reading. Its rich description of Paris in 1930s and the fact that it is about Georges Méliès' real troubled life makes it very interesting. Georges Méliès was a magician and the first producer to use fantasy or un-real themes in a movie. "A Trip to the Moon" is his best known work. When World War One struck, his company went bankrupt and he became a toy maker who also sold toys, but never recovered from bankruptcy. Later in the book, Hugo fixes his father's automaton, which draws a scene from "A Trip to the Moon" where the rocket hits the eye of the Moon. Through this, Hugo finds out about Georges Méliès' past as a visionary movie maker and why he hates his family watching movies.

There are more things to love about the book, like the unique use of stop motion illustrations. which make you feel like you are watching a movie as you flip through the pages. A good example would be the opening scene of the book. The camera or view zooms from the moon, down to a train station in Paris in the 1930s. The shot moves through the crowd and ends up on Hugo. For most readers, this is a novel way of presenting visual information. The dark frame of the book adds more theatre-like atmosphere and the beautiful pencil-drawn illustrations got me so involved in the story that I could not put it down until I had finished.

The invention of Hugo Cabret is a truely unique book. The stunning drawings just suck you into the book, and the topic, the life of Georges Méliès, are fascinating. Brian Selznick's amazing storytelling and stop-motions are less surprising when we find that his ancestor, David O. Selznick, was the producer of "Gone with the Wind". Hugo Cabret is definitely worth 9/10 and is a must read for all ages.